WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University men's soccer team, ranked seventh in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings, defeated in-state rival Saint Peter's, 2-1 on Friday afternoon on The Great Lawn. The Hawks improve to 3-0 on the season with the result, while the Peacocks fall to 1-2 on the campaign.
Senior keeper Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J. /Scotch Plains-Fanwood) made MU's one-goal lead hold up when, in the 80th minute of action, he saved a penalty kick from Saint Peter's Assaf Sheleg. The Hermann Award Watch List member also assisted on the game-winning goal, his first career point, when his 75-yard pass found fellow Hermann List honoree and captain Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn. /Naugatuck), who headed the ball passed SPC's keeper, in the 62nd minute.
"I thought we played very well in the first half and created some good goal-scoring chances, and Saint Peter's made things very difficult for us in the second half," said Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt. "The fan support today was great between the students and the families who came out. They helped make today a wonderful college soccer environment, and it's always good to get a win at home."
The Hawks scored the match's first goal when Kinne, who has had a hand in all five on MU's tallies this season, executed a well-placed corner in the 35th minute that freshman Jacob Rubinstein (Ocean, N.J. /Ocean Township) headed into the back of the net. The score is the newcomer's second goal of the season, and Kinne's second assist. The Peacocks were able to find the equalizer less than seven minutes later when Lebogang Pila slipped a through ball to Dmitri Pelts, who redirected the ball to the far post for his second goal of the year.
That set the stage for a fast-paced final 20 minutes that started when Meredith's long pass accurately found Kinne, who headed it into the net off of one bounce, to give the Blue and White a 2-1 lead. The keeper made the lead stand with his clutch save on the PK with 10 minutes to go.
"I feel very confident in my ability to read the shooter on penalties," said Meredith, who also made a pair of saves in a shootout win in last season's NCAA Tournament First Round match against Connecticut. Earlier in the game against the Peacocks on Friday, Meredith kept things scoreless in the 20th minute when he made a diving save on a 28-yard strike from Pila.
MU outshot Saint Peter's, 10-7, while the visitor's held an 8-7 advantage on corner kicks.
The Hawks return to action on Sunday when they visit our nation's capital for a 1:00 pm match with American University.
